Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to alarm detection, and in particular, to an alarm detection system using a low-power alarm detector.
Description of the Related Art
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (CO) detectors perform an important service in saving lives of building occupants, by detecting fires and/or poisonous gases, and by sounding an audible alarm. But when building occupants are not present or otherwise incapacitated, many smoke or CO detectors are useless as nobody can hear the alarm or act upon it, allowing fire and poisonous gas to expand unchecked, causing significant property damage and threatening lives. Some available alarm systems attempt to address this issue by deploying an expensive and complicated array of special dedicated smoke and/or CO detectors. These are hard-wired or otherwise interconnected to a central control system, which notifies third party dedicated personnel who in turn notify the remote user or emergency services. Such systems require expensive professional installation and a subscription for the monitoring and response service.
Other systems exist which comprise an intelligent smoke detector with the ability to provide notification directly to the remote user through a cellular phone service. Such systems require replacing existing smoke detectors with a dedicated intelligent device. As National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes require smoke detectors in each bedroom and on every floor, there are usually several smoke detectors in the building. Replacing legacy smoke detectors with dedicated intelligent devices is complicated and expensive. These systems also require purchasing and maintaining SIM cards and contracts with cellular providers.
In addition, an alarm detector deployed in a conventional alarm detection system comprises a processor to detect whether an incoming acoustic signal includes a specific audible alarm. However, the alarm detector is usually powered by a battery, and thus power consumption is of great concern for the battery-powered device. Also of great concern is the replacement of the battery in the alarm detector within several years. More specifically, the processor in the conventional alarm detector has to stay in the working mode all the time so as to consistently determine whether the incoming acoustic signal includes a specific audible alarm, resulting in higher consumption and a much shorter battery life. Accordingly, there is demand for a low-power alarm detector that can be used in an alarm detection system with extended battery life.